the.com/plan b
The backup scheme for when your optimism collides with reality.
means A prepared alternative strategy deployed when the primary approach fails or becomes impossible, usually formulated in advance but kept in reserve.
from Military and business jargon from mid-20th century: if Plan A was the main strategy, Plan B was literally the second option in tactical playbooks. The term democratized in everyday speech by the 1980s, cementing itself when people realized hope alone doesn't pay rent.
psychological safetyHaving a Plan B paradoxically makes Plan A more likely to succeed
corporate adoptionFortune 500 companies call it contingency planning; you call it not being naive
the contraceptiveEmergency birth control branded Plan B One-Step, launched 1999, created persistent confusion
murphy's law proofThe existence of Plan B proves you've already acknowledged Plan A's fragility